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254
suggested that the end of rioting marked the
beginning of “ an era of prosperity which has
advanced the city greatly commercially, and
this era still holds forth and is bringing
increased progressiveness and prosperity to
Wilmington.” 84 The differentiation between
past political conditions and contemporary
conditions suggested that the city had
changed hands without referring to the
means or the cost of the takeover. The city’s
businessmen advocated silence on the issue,
but the local mentality attributed prosperity
to the violence.
As the city’s leading white
businessman and amateur historian, James
Sprunt chronicled the event in his landmark
history of the Cape Fear published in 1916
and still used as a standard reference by
many historians:
The year 1898 marked an epoch in the
history of North Carolina, and especially
the city of Wilmington. Long continued
evils, borne by the community with a
patience that seems incredible, and which
it is no part of my purpose to describe,
culminated, on the 10th day of November,
in a radical revolution, accompanied by
bloodshed and a thorough reorganization
of social and political conditions. …. It
was only under stern necessity that the
action of the white people was taken, and
while some of the incidents were deplored
by the whites generally, yet when we
consider the peaceable and amicable
relations that have since existed, the good
government established and maintained,
and the prosperous, happy conditions that
have marked the succeeding years, we
realize that the results of the Revolution of
1898 have indeed been a blessing to the
community. 85
Sprunt’s narrative reflected the traditional
story of the violence as developed by
participating and leading whites to justify
84 “ The ‘ Riot’ Seven Years Old,” Reaves Clippings,
New Hanover County Public Library.
85 James Sprunt, Chronicles of the Cape Fear River,
1660- 1916, 554- 555.
their actions. This concept – that the armed
overthrow, or revolution, was necessary to
restore order and prosperity to the city – has
become the standard belief for many as to
why the violence occurred on November
tenth. However, after careful study it is
clear that such a simple explanation cannot
suffice for all members of the community
nor was it truly the reason for the violence.
The causes and effects of the riot,
neatly packaged by Wilmington’s elite
became the standard story for inclusion in
all statewide histories by historians such as
R. D. W. Connor, J. G. deRoulhac Hamilton,
and Samuel A. Ashe. These men chronicled
the history of the state during the first half of
the twentieth century, and their prevailing
assumptions regarding Wilmington’s
African American population were clouded
by previous authorship and close association
with some who participated in the coup and
violence.
As generations of Wilmingtonians
have shared the stories of 1898, historical
fact and fiction have merged, creating
alternative narratives that combine hearsay,
fact, fictionalized accounts, and episodes
from other parts of the city’s history. An
often repeated story is that the heads of
black men who died on November 10 were
placed on pikes along the major entrances to
the city. No historical data has been found
to prove such activity happened in 1898.
However, such displays were found in and
around the city in 1831 following the
hysteria that blossomed in the region as a
response to the 1831 Nat Turner insurrection
in Virginia. 86 Harry Hayden fueled the
confusion when, in his works, he referenced
the 1831 events. Hayden stated that blacks
and “ white agitators” would have done well
to delve into the city’s history, remarking
86 Charles Edward Morris, “ Panic and Reprisal:
Reaction in North Carolina to the Nat Turner
Insurrection, 1831 North Carolina Historical Review
( January 1985) 62: 29- 52.

254
suggested that the end of rioting marked the
beginning of “ an era of prosperity which has
advanced the city greatly commercially, and
this era still holds forth and is bringing
increased progressiveness and prosperity to
Wilmington.” 84 The differentiation between
past political conditions and contemporary
conditions suggested that the city had
changed hands without referring to the
means or the cost of the takeover. The city’s
businessmen advocated silence on the issue,
but the local mentality attributed prosperity
to the violence.
As the city’s leading white
businessman and amateur historian, James
Sprunt chronicled the event in his landmark
history of the Cape Fear published in 1916
and still used as a standard reference by
many historians:
The year 1898 marked an epoch in the
history of North Carolina, and especially
the city of Wilmington. Long continued
evils, borne by the community with a
patience that seems incredible, and which
it is no part of my purpose to describe,
culminated, on the 10th day of November,
in a radical revolution, accompanied by
bloodshed and a thorough reorganization
of social and political conditions. …. It
was only under stern necessity that the
action of the white people was taken, and
while some of the incidents were deplored
by the whites generally, yet when we
consider the peaceable and amicable
relations that have since existed, the good
government established and maintained,
and the prosperous, happy conditions that
have marked the succeeding years, we
realize that the results of the Revolution of
1898 have indeed been a blessing to the
community. 85
Sprunt’s narrative reflected the traditional
story of the violence as developed by
participating and leading whites to justify
84 “ The ‘ Riot’ Seven Years Old,” Reaves Clippings,
New Hanover County Public Library.
85 James Sprunt, Chronicles of the Cape Fear River,
1660- 1916, 554- 555.
their actions. This concept – that the armed
overthrow, or revolution, was necessary to
restore order and prosperity to the city – has
become the standard belief for many as to
why the violence occurred on November
tenth. However, after careful study it is
clear that such a simple explanation cannot
suffice for all members of the community
nor was it truly the reason for the violence.
The causes and effects of the riot,
neatly packaged by Wilmington’s elite
became the standard story for inclusion in
all statewide histories by historians such as
R. D. W. Connor, J. G. deRoulhac Hamilton,
and Samuel A. Ashe. These men chronicled
the history of the state during the first half of
the twentieth century, and their prevailing
assumptions regarding Wilmington’s
African American population were clouded
by previous authorship and close association
with some who participated in the coup and
violence.
As generations of Wilmingtonians
have shared the stories of 1898, historical
fact and fiction have merged, creating
alternative narratives that combine hearsay,
fact, fictionalized accounts, and episodes
from other parts of the city’s history. An
often repeated story is that the heads of
black men who died on November 10 were
placed on pikes along the major entrances to
the city. No historical data has been found
to prove such activity happened in 1898.
However, such displays were found in and
around the city in 1831 following the
hysteria that blossomed in the region as a
response to the 1831 Nat Turner insurrection
in Virginia. 86 Harry Hayden fueled the
confusion when, in his works, he referenced
the 1831 events. Hayden stated that blacks
and “ white agitators” would have done well
to delve into the city’s history, remarking
86 Charles Edward Morris, “ Panic and Reprisal:
Reaction in North Carolina to the Nat Turner
Insurrection, 1831 North Carolina Historical Review
( January 1985) 62: 29- 52.